2/3 public sector ‘would take pay cut’

With unemployment predicted to breach 10% outside of London and the South of England, nearly two thirds of public sector workers would now be prepared to take pay cuts to save their jobs.  According to a survey of 1,600 public sector jobseekers by recruitment web site Totaljobs.com, a quarter said they would stomach a salary […]

21st century training: get better value

Trimming skills budgets might seem like a regressive move, but it might be the catalyst needed to prepare staff training for the demands of the 21st century, says Jane Scott Paul, CEO, Association Accounting Technicians. The economic turbulence over the past few years has led to training budgets being trimmed across the board. Consequently there […]

Unemployment set to get worse for young and old

Unemployment is disproportionately hitting young people and older workers but official jobless figures appear to indicate that the situation is only set to get worse.  Figures from the Office for National Statistics released yesterday seemed to be encouraging on the surface, with the number of unemployed falling by 49,000 to 2.46 million in the three […]

Business to be consulted on public spending

Skills Minister John Hayes has launched a couple of public consultations, with the aim of understanding how scarce public resources should be used to best effect to meet employers’ requirements.  The ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ document outlines the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ view on skills’ priorities and how they should be delivered, while […]

CIPD in ‘wildly inaccurate’ policy paper row

A leading HR body has found itself at the centre of a PR storm following the publication of a policy paper about skills quangos, which has been branded “wildly inaccurate” and “unprofessional”.  The report entitled ‘Quangos in the Education and Skills System’, which was published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) last […]

Recession over but pay still low

Employers are having to find new ways to retain staff as more than three quarters have failed to reinstate pay cuts that were introduced to avoid redundancies during the recession.  According to research undertaken among 1,000 workers by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, a huge 77% of the 8.7 million employees that took a pay […]

Job deficit to last five years

Although unemployment fell slightly last quarter due to a record increase in the number of part-time workers, a leading HR body has warned that the UK faces five long years of a serious jobs deficit.  According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people in employment fell by 34,000 to 2.47 million in […]

Government may plug BT pensions

Only days after BT averted strike action by reaching a £50 million deal on staff pay, its trustees are going to the High Court to seek a ruling on the extent to which the government should underwrite its £9 billion pension deficit.  If the ruling goes in the telco’s favour and the government underwrites its […]

Work-related illnesses cost UK economy £36bn

Although the number of staff who were fatally injured at work fell significantly last year, non-terminal illnesses caused by poor working practices cost the UK economy nearly £36bn.  According to provisional figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), some 151 workers died in fiscal year 2009-2010, which equates to about 0.5% per 100,000 employees, […]

Whitehall HR to be unified

Former head of the Football Association Ian Watmore has been appointed to lead a cross-departmental group charged with creating a single HR strategy across Whitehall.  As chief operating officer of the Cabinet Office’s new Efficiency and Reform Group (EFG), Watmore will be expected to work with Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, and chief […]

Unemployment set to soar

The coalition government’s austerity budget will result in the loss of 1.3 million jobs across the economy over the next five years, according to leaked Treasury estimates. The unpublished private assessment, which was seen by the Guardian, indicated that the government expected between 500,000 and 600,000 posts to go in the public sector and an […]

NHS not so ‘protected’ after all

Despite reassurances from the coalition government that front-line services would be protected, many NHS Trusts are already being forced to make redundancies, introduce recruitment freezes and cut back on services, according to the BMA.  A survey of 92 local negotiating committee chairs undertaken by the doctors’ association revealed that 24% already planned to make redundancies […]

Emergency budget – what it means for HR and employers

This ‘emergency’ budget, delivered by Chancellor George Osborne (flanked by two Liberal Democrats to prove how well the coalition is working and how much cross-party support the financial plan has) could be significant for managers and HR, according to business leaders and the CIPD. John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel […]

Budget must invest to tackle skills gap

An employer’s body has called on the coalition government to invest in skills training ahead of next week’s emergency Budget to help the manufacturing industry tackle skills gaps and fill 3,500 job vacancies.  Proskills, the Sector Skills Council for the Process and Manufacturing sector, said that, while it was not expecting blanket subsidies, it believed […]

Public sector HR braces for storms ahead

Public sector HR managers could face difficult times ahead if current debates being played out in the media over potentially radical changes to pay and pensions come to fruition.  Only a day after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg branded public sector pensions “unaffordable”, signalling possible future cuts, and 10 days after Prime Minister David Cameron […]

CIPD: unemployment to hit three million by the second half of 2012

Government plans to focus on spending cuts rather than tax increases will stall any recovery in the jobs market later this year and cause unemployment to hit three million by the second half of 2012.  This is the stark warning that John Philpott, chief economic advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development will […]

Long term planning essential for business recovery

Even though the UK continues to be hit by a “jobless recovery” from recession, a prestigious HR body has warned employers that they must focus on long-term workforce planning to ensure sustained business performance.  A survey of 2,100 UK firms by recruitment consultants Manpower showed only “mild optimism” about job prospects over the coming three […]

Recession successes invested in training

Even though there is a direct link between investment in learning and development and financial performance, nearly half of all UK employers made cost-cutting rather than innovation in this area a priority during the recession.  According to a survey, among 200 learning and development (L&D) professionals in organisations with more than 1,000 staff, undertaken by […]

Leadership training should be a ‘national priority’

A professional management body has called on employers to commit to investing in leadership training as a national priority in order to spearhead a return to sustained economic growth.  The plea from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) followed the launch of a public consultation on Northern Ireland’s skills strategy by Minister for Employment and Learning, […]

‘Recession stress’ costs employers £26 billion

Stress and depression cost employers £26 billion last year as staff felt compelled to work longer hours and compete against each other to keep their jobs as a result of the recession. According to a study undertaken among 2,050 workers by Populus on behalf of mental health charity Mind, this situation resulted in one in […]